BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Austin Brown apparently has inched into the lead over true freshman Josh Greer in the race to become UAB's backup quarterback.

Brown is not content with stopping there. He's also trying to unseat starter Jonathan Perry.

"Right now he's the starter, but he knows I want his job," Brown said. "I'm doing everything in my power to get that job. He knows that and that's part of the game. We're all trying to be the starting quarterback."

Chances are good Perry will be the starter when UAB opens the season Sept. 1 against Troy at Legion Field. But Brown is closing the gap between the two, a testament to his progress since the beginning of spring practice. The 6-foot-1, 208-pound redshirt freshman progressed slowly during his first spring practice. He managed to close the spring by taking a step forward while completing 10-of-15 passes for 109 yards with a touchdown in the spring game.

"I think he's had a very good camp," Brohm added. "He's much better in the meetings. He knows things much better, he can recall more quickly than he was able to before. He has a better understanding. When he knows what to do, he can flat throw the football, that's his strength."

Brown agrees that his progress this summer began during the final practice of the spring.

"It's just one of those things where you don't really know why or how, it just kind of slows down a little bit," Brown said.

Brown's progress as a quarterback began with an important decision he made before his senior season in high school. Brown was a two-year varsity starter at Habersham Central in Mount Airy, Ga., but decided to leave after a new coach decided to install the run-oriented Wing-T offense.

Wanting to throw the ball more often, Brown's family moved to another Georgia town so he could attend Flowery Branch High.

He joined a program that featured a spread offense run by head coach Lee Shaw. Brown followed Shaw's sons, Jaybo and Connor, who were the program's starting quarterbacks from 2005 to 2009. Jaybo played at Georgia Tech and Georgia Southern, while Connor is Steve Spurrier's starting quarterback at South Carolina, which plays host to UAB on Sept. 15.

"It completely changed me as a football player," Brown said. "I went down there and all I knew was how to throw a ball. It definitely changed me completely, just how I look at a defense and how I look at the field."

Brown threw for 2,588 yards with 24 touchdowns, leading his team to a 10-2 record in his lone season at Flowery Branch.

Last fall as a redshirt he watched Bryan Ellis, also from Georgia high schools, and Perry work the offense.

"I learned a lot from Bryan, mainly how to be a leader and just how to control an offense," Brown said. "It was Quarterback 101 type of stuff. I've learned more athletic kind of stuff (from Perry). He knows when to tuck it and run, that's what I'm trying to learn right now."

Brohm said one important step in Brown's continued progress is to rely more on his athletic ability.

"He's a strong, athletic kid," Brohm said. "We just have to get him to use that athleticism out there to make plays, to find a way to get out and run when needed."